This does mean there’s space for the excellent Abigail’s Party to transfer from the Menier Chocolate Factory, where it had a sold out run, to the larger Wyndham’s Theatre. Starring Jill Halfpenny, Joe Absolom and Natalie Casey (who’s hilarious), this is a brilliant new version of Mike Leigh’s classic comedy and should continue to make audiences cringe and chortle in equal measure now it’s in the West End.

Other new shows heading to London in the coming weeks are Six Actors In Search Of A Director, a new comedy written and directed by Steven Berkoff at the Charing Cross Theatre from 16 May; and Democracy, Sheffield Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of Michael Frayn’s 2003 hit, at the Old Vic from 15 June.

Finally, have you ever fancied yourself as one of The Beatles? New West End theatrical concert, Let It Be, is running open auditions to find actor-musicians to play the fab four. Head to the Gielgud Theatre on 8 May to show off your talents; successful applicants will join the cast of Let It Be when it opens at the Prince of Wales Theatre in September this year.

London Cast News:

Star of American hit series Smash, Raza Jaffrey is to play the sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn in Chicago from 16 May to 14 July this summer. He’ll then be replaced by Olympic gold medallist and Dancing On Ice judge Robin Cousins.

Lisa Dillon will star alongside Stephen Mangan in the Royal Court’s forthcoming production of Birthday, from 22 June. Joe Penhall’s tense new comedy is about a couple waiting for the arrival of their new baby.

You can find out all you need to know about London theatre, book tickets and read about all the shows on offer on our main website: visitlondon.com/events/theatre

So what’s coming up in this melting pot of money, success and creativity? Well, this week I’ve learnt the Hampstead Theatre is getting in on the mania for all things Olympic by staging a theatrical adaptation of the Oscar-winning film, Chariots of Fire. The play will run from 9 May to 16 June. Mike Bartlett (who wrote Cock and Earthquakes in London) is writing the script, and Hampstead Theatre’s Artistic Director, Edward Hall will direct. More details on the casting of the two runners (Scottish Christian Eric Liddell and English Jew Harold Abrahams) in due course.

Two chaps who won’t be donning the running shorts(!) are Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths, because they’re to appear in Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys at the Savoy Theatre.

The play is a classic comedy of showbiz and friendship from the 1970s; or you might know it from the Oscar-winning film starring George Burns and Walter Matthau; or the high-profile TV version with Woody Allen and Peter Falk. This will be DeVito’s West End debut; he’s better known for his film acting, including Terms of Endearment, Batman Returns, Junior and Twins. In contrast, his co-star Richard Griffiths is a regular on the London stage, including The History Boys, The Habit of Art, Rules of the Game, and The White Guard. It’ll make an interesting pairing: I can’t wait.

This Week’s London Cast News

• Andy Nyman, Natalie Casey, Joe Absolom and Susannah Harker join the already-announced Jill Halfpenny in Abigail’s Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory from March. This is shaping up to be a very exciting cast list!
• Noel Sullivan, who you’ll remember from Hear’Say joins the cast of We Will Rock You next month, replacing Alex Gaumond in the role of Galileo
• Natalie Dormer, Kieran Bew and Polly Frame will star in the Young Vic’s revival of Patrick Marber’s play After Miss Julie from March
• Finally, Claire Sweeney (Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Legally Blonde) and Matthew Kelly (best-known as the host of TV’s Stars in Their Eyes) are appearing in a revival of Educating Rita at the Menier Chocolate Factory from April

More next week.

Simon Callow is bringing his one-man show, Being Shakespeare, back to London in March, for a strictly limited run. He’ll be at the Trafalgar Studios from 7 to 31 March, bringing a multitude of the bard’s most famous creations to life. It’ll be the perfect warm-up for the World Shakespeare Festival which kicks off the following month.

Another March date for your diaries is Thursday 15, when Complicite and Simon McBurney return to the Barbican (following the success of Shun-Kin and A Disappearing Number) with a new English adaptation of Master and Margarita. It’s a stage adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s rich magical realist novel about the struggle between evil and compassion. I’m a big fan of Complicite’s work, so I’m really looking forward to seeing this one.

Finally, the Reduced Shakespeare Company are back for in London in 2012, bringing The Complete World of Sports (abridged) to the Arts Theatre for a six-week run from 18 July to 25 August, to coincide with the London 2012 Olympic Games. The show’s described as “every sport even played on every continent in the entire history of the world in under two hours!”. It’s a clever idea from clever boys, and I wish them luck!

London Casting News

• One of my favourite actors, Jill Halfpenny, is returning to London, to play Beverly in Abigail’s Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory from 2 March
• Another great British star, Tara Fitzgerald, will appear opposite Ben Chaplin and Jemma Redgrave in Farewell To The Theatre at the Hampstead Theatre from 1 March
• Stand-up comic and actor Ardal O’Hanlon is playing the lead in a new production of Port Authority at the Southwark Playhouse from 24 January
• Finally, I’ve got details of the lucky ladies playing alongside Zach Braff in All New People at the Duke of York’s Theatre from February. Both Eve Myles and Susannah Fielding have previously worked with the RSC, and both have strong sci-fi links: Myles plays Gwen in Torchwood; Fielding has appeared in Doctor Who. I wish them both well with their return to theatre

More next week…